Mayor warns of tough times and urges volunteerism

Mayor: Get ready for big challenges, HoustonParker calls for volunteers to help her in the fight ahead

BRADLEY OLSON, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, April 8, 2010

Mayor Annise Parker urged Houstonians to embrace volunteerism and prepare for challenging times during an austere financial year in her first state of the city speech Thursday.

Comparing the current fiscal climate to the devastating financial free fall the city faced in the 1980s, Parker warned of higher fees for vital services and difficult budget cuts that will be needed to help her close a looming $140 million shortfall.

“We don't know what lies ahead,” she said to a packed crowd at the Hilton Americas Hotel. “The pressures are going to be immense.”

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Parker said she would not shy away from the city's most vexing problems, or the difficult cuts or fee increases they might require, such as drastic increases in water bills or insurance premium costs for city retirees.

To explain her approach to the budget gap, Parker spoke about when her father relocated her family to Biloxi, Miss., when she was 12. He invested all their savings in a fishing camp, only to lose everything when the business failed because of a barge accident.

“My parents did not give up,” Parker said, adding that they had to move into a small rent house to allow them to pay back all their debts and restore their credit. The story “helped form my world view and is central to how I approach the financial challenges facing our city. I know that circumstances beyond our control can suddenly and irrevocably change life as we know it, which is why you plan for the future and you set aside a reserve.”

In a nod to the mayor's pledge to cooperate with Harris County and other local governments, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett offered a fond introduction for her speech, which was put on by the Greater Houston Partnership.

“The only advice I have given her so far is, slow down,” Emmett said, hinting at the numerous policy changes and new directions that have taken shape since Parker was inaugurated in January.

The mayor went through many of those in detail in her speech, citing appointments such as Police Chief Charles McClelland and highlighting her role in inking a deal with Harris County for a new sports stadium. She reiterated her tough approach to the Metropolitan Transit Authority and Houston Fire Department and promised to continue the push to shake up city departments.

Parker also announced a new initiative aimed at getting more Houstonians to become involved in improving the city.

One of the first major initiatives in which those volunteers will be involved is expected to be Demolition Day on May 22, she said, when the city will knock down 200 abandoned and dangerous buildings and crack houses.

Parker said at a later press conference that she also hopes to ask select groups of volunteers to help the city with its technology, budgetary and energy needs.